Place of the Deer

Place of the Deer is an ongoing photographic exploration of the Central Arizona Highlands, a land surprisingly similar to my home in the Southern Appalachian portion of Tennessee. Also known as the Arizona Transition Zone the central highlands transition from the lower, Saguaro saturated, Sonoran Desert to the dense Ponderosa Pine forests just north of the Mogollon Rim, the literal southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. Through practice and research this work juxtaposes references to actual historic and geologic events with metaphor often associated with many of the different cultural ideologies present in the region.

Matthew Jessie is a large format photographer from the small town of Rogersville, Tennessee. He received a BFA in Studio Art from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, but now lives in Tempe, Arizona where he is pursuing an MFA in Studio Art at Arizona State University. Matthew's work has been featured by publications including Oxford American's: Eyes On The South, Ain't-Bad Magazine, The Heavy Collective, Palm* Studios, and others.